Picture like in Germany

Political scientists on the future of the party system in Russia

Vremya Novostei correspondent Daria GUSEVA asked political scientists to comment on the prospects for the party system in the country after the new political initiatives of President Vladimir Putin.

"Any artificially constructed party system will collapse"

Georgy SATAROV, President of the INDEM Foundation:

-- Now the public side of the upcoming elections will demonstrate the complete crisis of the party system. Because all the parties that agreed to pose as the opposition, to play by the rules that the Kremlin proposes, by the fact that Vladimir Putin is getting involved in the game, are actually put in a situation that they, to put it mildly, did not expect. Because they are left with no field for real public party struggle.

This once again indicates a crisis in public policy in the portrayal of the Kremlin. If the number of players remains stable, more than three parties will not enter the Duma of the fifth convocation. Because the result of United Russia will now be above 50%.

In general, building party systems is an idiotic activity. Any artificially constructed party system will collapse. Party building from below is possible in principle in Russia. But the current parties will not participate in this construction. Because they either did not represent anything initially, or discredited themselves.

"Perhaps we will reach a three-party system"

Valery KHOMYAKOV, Chairman of the National Strategy Council:

— The fact that Vladimir Putin headed the federal list of United Russia gave the party the ideology it needed. The ideology that the president has been pursuing for eight years. The party acquired a personified bearer of ideology. We now have three parties that are ideological - United Russia, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Union of Right Forces. I think that as a result of this election cycle we will achieve a two-party system, with United Russia and the communists in parliament.

United Russia members have long become social democrats, those whose ideology A Just Russia claimed. And now Sergei Mironov, it seems to me, just needs to give the money he collected for the election campaign to pensioners. And not to participate in the elections, because there is almost no chance of winning. “United Russia” also no longer needs to spend money on the campaign, but calmly wait for the election results.

If we recall the history of the creation of A Just Russia, it seemed that Vladimir Putin was creating it for himself; he wanted to subsequently lead it. But Mr. Mironov began collecting second-hand goods there, and the president’s leadership in it became impossible.

As a result, we may end up with a three-party system. There should be some liberals in parliament, although so far I don’t see that this could be an association based on the Union of Right Forces. All the negativity that liberals now bear will disappear, and other people will represent the sought-after liberal ideology. In two or three election cycles we will get a picture like in Germany, where the Social Democratic Party, the right-wing conservative and the liberal parties are present in parliament.